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Sitting in a chair near said , Anne kneas ridiculous to waste her ti him trot off with Lady Her with her if her fa her to the park For all she knew, perhaps he would be slipping into Lady Here the queasiness that thought caused, but there it was--taunting her

She wanted to shout out that he was hers, but he wasn’t of course She was littlefancy Convenient on the ship Convenient noith the dratted tree growing outside herShe should have had the gardener chop it dohen she returned hoe to Tristan that his attentions weren’t wanted

But when she heard a faint scraping and saw a booted foot appearing over theledge, her gladness mocked her Blast it! Why did she have to be so thrilled that he’d coht before he pulled her fro his hands into her hair She was vaguely aware of pins pinging as they hit the floor Mostly she was lost in the sensations that his kiss invoked Why did he have to be so skilled at causing her body to hum with so little effort?

But she wantedspecial to hi to touch her heart and that terrified her She broke free of the kiss and stepped away fro into Lady Herrowing outside her "

With a fury she’d not expected ripping through her, she pounded her balled fist into his shoulder He snatched her wrist and jerked her to hiether "Jealous, Princess?"

"Absolutely not"

Tenderness touched his eyes and he ski her cheek "She could have stairs leading to her , and I’d still not go through it"

She despised the relief that swa with hi He was not a o long unanchored

She’d learned that lesson well enough after Walter’s passing She’d been too lost with no ain, scattering her thoughts before they refocused on the sensations he elicited with such ease She could aline that she would have this for the re her throat

"I hated seeing you with him"

She kneho hi with Father I couldn’t very well say no"